大象传媒

Courgettes are seasonal and cheap, and can be craftily made into all kinds of delicious dishes. Gardener Mark Lane has been growing Morning Live's own courgettes out on the balcony and if, like us, yours are ready for harvest then read on to discover how to make the humble courgette the star of the show...

Savoury Cheesy Courgette Muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 1 courgette
• 150g cheddar + 50g for topping, grated
• 75g sweetcorn
• 250g self raising flour
• 50ml olive oil
• 175ml milk
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 spring onion

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan/200C. Line a muffin tin with 12 cases.
2. Top and tail the courgettes and grate them into a mixing bowl.
3. Add 150g of the cheddar and the sweetcorn to the bowl and mix. Then add the olive oil, milk and egg then mix again. Add the flour and grated courgette and fold through until combined. TOP TIP - don't mix too much as the mixture will become stiff.
4. Using an ice cream scoop, spoon the mixture between the cases then sprinkle over the remaining 50g of cheddar and spring onion.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and browned.

Courgetti Bolognese

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 courgettes
• 500g turkey mince
• 3 rashers smoked bacon, chopped
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 20ml Worcestershire sauce

Method

1. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan. Add the turkey mince and chopped bacon. Cook until browned then transfer to a bowl.
2. In the same pan, add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes until browning. Add the peppers and cook for a further 4 minutes.
3. Then add the herbs and some salt and pepper to the pan. Add the tins of chopped tomatoes. In a jug, mix the vegetable stock, tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce with 200ml of boiling water. Add this to the pan and mix well. Leave to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. To make the courgetti spaghetti, top and tail the courgettes. Use a peeler to ribbon the courgettes then thinly slice lengthways to create ‘courgetti’. In a bowl, mix the courgetti with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper then cook in a pan. Heat a frying pan then add the courgetti to cook for 3 minutes.
5. Serve the Bolognese on top of the courgetti. Top with parmesan and fresh basil.

Courgette and Lemon Cake

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 400g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 375g golden caster sugar
• 75g cocoa powder
• 2 courgettes, grated
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 2 tsp lemon extract
• 125ml vegetable oil
• 2 medium eggs
• 225ml milk
• 100ml boiling water + 2 tsp instant coffee

For the ganache icing

• 300g dark chocolate
• 150ml double cream

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 170C fan/190C/gas 4. Grease and line a 10 inch round cake tin.
2. In one bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and cocoa powder and whisk to combine.
3. In another bowl, add the grated courgettes and the zest and juice of a lemon. Then add the vegetable oil, milk, before adding the whisked eggs, mix and add lemon extract.
4. Add the bowl of wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix the batter until smooth then add the boiling water mixed with the coffee and stir well.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes until firm and a skewer comes out mostly clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
6. To make the ganache, break the chocolate into small chunks in a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream in a pan until just boiling then pour over the chocolate. Leave for 3 minutes then stir until glossy.